Mod Podge "film" leaves.

Once upon a time I made glass clings with Mod Podge - and the world was good. But then my friend Pam came along and blew my little tutorial out of the water with her Mod Podge "film" leaves! They are essentially glass clings that she made with Mod Podge and food coloring - and they look just like real leaves. But they aren't real leaves, they are Mod Podge. Are you completely amazed yet? Of course you are. Now go visit Pam because I know you have to see how she did it.

Autumn magic at Gingerbread Snowflakes

Read More

The Bagster bag and a giveaway.

I don't know if you remember, but I recently talked about doing a clean up at my "farm" property in Georgia. Okay, it's not officially a farm, but it is two acres and it's zoned agricultural. It's a big space!

I also don't know if you remember that I had a garage on the back of the property filled with junk as well as the basement, and that I needed a solution for getting it cleaned up. The renters have stuff they need to move so I had to get stuff out:

Luckily Waste Management contacted me, the company who makes the Bagster Bag. They ask me if I'd like to try their service, so I went out and purchased one of these puppies:

And then I filled it:

I wasn't quite sure how difficult it would be to get this thing collected, but I left it out on the side of the house near the curb and they came the next day! Standard turn around is 1 - 3 days, which was cool because I could get the trash out of my life immediately.

And you'll be pleased to know that with my coupon, the pickup was $79 - add the $30 for the Bagster bag, and it was $109 to get rid of a whole bunch of junk. I've rented a dumpster once before and it was 5 times as expensive - making the Bagster bag an awesomely affordable solution for homeowners.

Another nice thing about the Bagster bag? I had to take a few trips up to my property to get it filled, but since I owned the bag, I could do it on my own schedule. That was awesome. The whole process gets two thumbs up from me. If you have a household/DIY/construction mess that you need gone, I highly recommend the Bagster bag. It's so great!

Because Waste Management is so nice, they are sponsoring a giveaway for a Mod Podge Rocks reader - a $100 American Express gift card. Simply follow the instructions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: Waste Management partnered with bloggers such as me to participate in its The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. As part of this program, I received compensation to cover the cost of the Bagster bag and pick-up as well as my time. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products used for the The Bagster® Bag Blogger Challenge. Waste Management believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Waste Management’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

Read More

BOO Halloween letters.

I just love Trish and Bonnie - they are so creative! I saw these Halloween "BOO" letters and was tickled. I love the chevron paper, but it was the boingy bats on the springs that really thrilled me and made me look twice. Those bats? They glow, thanks to Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge. This fancy display is actually quite easy to make. You just need to follow the tutorial at the link below.

Stackable BOO Halloween letters at Uncommon Designs

Read More

Aged paper decoupaged table.

This is one of the coolest furniture revamps I've ever seen. Using vintage engineering drawings from the 1800s, Wendy blew them up and fixed up an old kitchen table by decoupaging them to the top. I was so interested to read about how she did it, because she made the drawings blend into the wood so well. Let's say that some glaze and fancy Podgework were involved, and you just have to read it. Take a peek at Wendy's blog entry below to learn more.

Aged paper decoupage DIY table refinishing project at Vintage Fangirl

Read More

DIY fall napkin rings using raffia.

Hi Podgy People! It’s Shannon from Madigan Made back again. Today I want to show you an easy fall craft project that would be an elegant idea for your autumn table scape.

I’m always amazed at the versatility of Mod Podge. Not only can you cover and seal stuff with it . . . but you can shape things, too! Fabric, yarn, rope . . . decoupage is a wonderful sealer and shaper for these materials. I made a bracelet with raffia and Mod Podge this past summer and it inspired these fall napkin rings that I made this month.

There are some things to remember when you use Mod Podge to hold fibers together.  First, you need a surface that will serve as the mold for your material. But  you also need to ensure that the fibrous material and mold will separate once the glue is dry. When you are working with a small object like a napkin ring, how do you find a cylindrical object that will allow you to easily release the rings once everything is dry? I figured out that a long balloon works perfectly! Especially the kind that you can use to make balloon animals. The diameter is perfect for a napkin ring!

These napkin rings were also affordable to make… I found my balloon kit and raffia at the dollar store. And the gems were only $1.50 for a big box of them at the craft store!

Let me show you how I made these simple fall napkin rings.

Supplies needed:
Raffia
Mod Podge, Satin formula
Long Balloon Kit
Rhinestone leaf gems
Hot glue
Scissors
Foam brush
Pin

Step One: Inflate your party balloon with the pump provided and tie the end shut.

Step Two:  This is where we get a little messy! Brush a thick coat of Mod Podge around a section of the balloon. Take one end of the raffia and wrap it around that area. Keep in mind that you are decoupaging the raffia onto itself . . . not to the balloon. The cylinder is just there to support your shape. Liberally apply more Mod Podge as you continue to wrap the fiber around the balloon.

If you need more raffia, you can add it. But one strand of raffia gave me a decent width for a napkin ring. Secure the end down with more Mod Podge. (You may need to tuck the end into fibers to get it to stay put, too.)

Step Three: Repeat step two and work your way down the balloon. Wrap more pieces of raffia with Mod Podge to make your desired quantity of napkin rings. Hang the balloon to dry overnight.

Step Four: Now comes the fun part! Use a sharp pin or scissors and pop your balloon to release your pretty napkin rings. Pop! The balloon will peel right away from the decoupage and raffia.

Step Five: Use scissors to clean up some of loose or hanging raffia and dried decoupage from the edges of each ring.

Step Six: Attach a jeweled leaf to each circle with your hot glue gun. If you can’t find a pretty jewel, try a button or an acorn top. Personalize it for your table!

Enjoy your new napkins rings at your next dinner party this season! See how easy it is to use decoupage to turn fibers into a shape? I’m loving how the natural material resembles corn husks. The contrast of organic raffia with a pretty jewel is simple and understated.

Why not make a set of these napkin rings for your Thanksgiving table? You can tell your relatives all about  the amazing things you can make with Mod Podge over pumpkin pie. (Beats talking about your aunt’s latest bunion trouble, right?)

About the Podger: You might call Shannon the Clark Kent of craft blogging. By day, she is a pharmacist and by night she shares simple ideas for crafts, décor and much more with her readers. She also craves chocolate, loves a thrifty find and tries (often unsuccessfully) to avoid glue gun burns. You can find Shannon on her blog, Madigan Made, and on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, too.

I’m participating in the following linky parties: I Heart Naptime, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Creative Jewish Mom

Read More

Easy decoupage: Halloween plate with skull napkins.

Cathie and Steve's passion for crafting always shows so well with their Halloween ideas. It's their favorite and you can tell! This time it's using napkins from the dollar store and a clear glass plate - and I love how the book pages slightly show through the skulls, which makes it look like the plates were meant to be this way. Which is obviously the case. There's a whole set of goodies that you need to see. Click through to learn how Cathie made this plate as well as to see the other project ideas.

DIY Halloween plate with skull napkins at Cathie Filian

Read More

Glow-in-the-dark skeleton decor using dowel rods.

So . . . what does one do when they have some dowel rods laying around, they want to make a Halloween project AND they want to use Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge? Well, they make glow-in-the-dark skeleton decor, of course! This spooky plaque has a skeleton face made entirely of painted dowel rods, and as you can see, he glows in low light.

Here he is in the light. I love the interesting effect of the dowel rods as his face and am so happy with how it turned out. My friend Chris saw my idea as I was initially working on it and wasn't so sure - and I can't blame her - but it turned out just like I saw it in my head. Don't you love when that happens? Here's how to make a glow-in-the-dark dowel rod skeleton for yourself.

Gather These Supplies

Wood plaque
Mod Podge Matte
Mod Podge Glow-in-the-Dark
FolkArt acrylic paint - Pure Black, Lime Green, Titanium White
Skull graphic - large enough to fit on your plaque
Dowel rods - an assortment of sizes from 1/16" to 1/4"
Scissors
Pencil
Paintbrush - large and small
Saw and miter box
Craft glue

Print out a skull graphic to fit your plaque (look for free clip art or design your own). Start cutting the dowel rods to fit the skeleton face. How do you do that, you ask?

Get a handy dandy miter box and saw and start . . . sawing. I got this for $15 at Home Depot. This is my first saw and I'm so proud of myself. My friend Sherrie attached it to a desk with some clamps so that I could saw with ease.

I used a pencil to mark where to saw, then alternated size of dowel rods as I worked. I sawed some pieces at an angle and some straight - I tried to follow the shape of the skeleton face as best I could.

Here's the entire thing covered.

Now paint all the dowel rods white. It doesn't matter if they shift left or right on the paper, as long as they stay in the same order vertically.

While the dowel rods are drying/you are in the midst of painting them, paint the top of the plaque with Lime Green. Let it dry.

This is how you will get the dowel rods in the right place. Slide them off of the skull design, making sure that they stay in the right order vertically. Then cut out the skull face from the paper and trace onto the center of the plaque with a pencil.

Then starting at the bottom, glue the dowel rods to fit the pencil template using craft glue. Having the template makes it very easy. Once you have glue all of the dowel rods down, coat all of the them with white again to touch them up.

Don't worry if the white paint goes onto the green a little bit - we're going to touch that up too.

I had no idea how to get the mouth, nose and eyes onto the dowel rods. Then I realized I could cut out those areas and use the skull face as a stencil. So that's what I did.

I used a smaller brush to paint in the black eyes, nose and mouth. It takes a little bit, but it's fun to do the detail work (at least for me). Let that dry.

Paint the edge and back of the plaque with black and let that dry.

Then turn the plaque over and touch up the green. After that, put at least 4 - 5 coats of Mod Podge Glow-in-the-Dark on the skeleton face, but ONLY on the white parts. Let dry. You need this many coats to get a decent glow.

Paint the rest of the plaque (not the skeleton) with Matte Mod Podge. Let that dry.

Supercharge your skeleton face by putting it under a light, then shut the lights out and let it glow! It wears off after a a few minutes, but it's totally worth it.

And of course I just like it sitting out on the table as regular Halloween decor, smiling.

Read More

FaveCrafts Radio - your kids' craft questions answered!

Tuesday's FaveCrafts radio show is all about a fun topic - kids' crafting. With the holidays coming up and a lot of time out of school, get the kids busy doing some fun crafts. Let's talk all about it!

Details
When: October 9th at 11am EST/8am PST
Where: Blog Talk Radio - click here to listen
What: Simple home decor - easy ways to update your home
Who: Candie Cooper of Hands On Crafts for Kids and CandieCooper.com, Marisa Pawelko from The Modern Surrealist and Breanna Newbill from Dollar Store Mom

Do you have questions for our guests? Leave them as comments on this blog entry! We'll ask them during the show!

PS - Want to listen to old episodes? Visit iTunes and search for FaveCrafts. There are some great ones!

Read More

DIY mushroom serving tray makeover.

Is it because I am a child of the 70s that I love mushrooms? I have a Pinterest board called "Gnome and Woodland" if that tells you anything. I also love yellow in home decor, so Elizabeth has hit a home run with this DIY mushroom serving tray, in my humble opinion. And Mod Podge, as always, is how it comes together. Visit her to learn more.

Mod Podge serving tray makeover at Please Note

Read More